For the marinade put the chicken legs in a flat dish and cover them with the juice of the lime. Next, cover the legs with the colombo spice (it's not hot so you can add plenty) and add the onion rings over the top of this and then add the bay leaves and cover the dish with cling film. Marinade in the fridge for 3 hours.

3 hours later...

Take the flat dish out of the fridge Add the olive oil to a large frying pan and add the chicken legs. Under a high heat "grill" the chicken legs in the pan. When the legs are sealed transfer them to a large cooking pot. Next, add the rest of the marinade to the frying pan and cook until the onions become transparent. Dice the potatoes, aubergine and courgettes into medium size cubes. Once the onions are done add them to the cooking pot along with the chillies, potatoes, aubergine, courgettes, thyme and salt and pepper to season. Cover the pot and cook under a very low heat (the water from the vegetables will cook the chicken through) until the potatoes are tender and it's done. Serve with basmati rice.

What I like to do, and this is optional, is when the meal is served, take a scotch bonnet pepper (or any other very fiery pepper), slice it in half and then simply dab it over the colombo. It adds a lot of heat to the dish without overpowering the taste.

Ohhh! I was so engrossed trying to find a retailer selling the D200, I forgot to get all the ingredients for the Murghi Makkhani for tonight's din

So, it's a fusion mix tonight, accompanied by Judge Jules in my diddy kitchen, a bottle of rose wine and lots of dancing inbeteween dicing and stirring. May be a disaster... may be palatable... tho not likely to be one for the photoforum recipe list.

Glad missy is still alive after her dinner of chillies, pepper and garlic

Now this really surprises me - I'm going to cook Nat's Colombo And I have not cooked anything more than a sosij in several decades, so wish me luck. Love curry

I will also try and have a go at A Day in the Life of STi Frenchie, which I imagine goes somethign like this. Up early to catch a glorious Alpine sunrise. Mad sideways drive down Alpine pass in Scoob to shops. Hand pick fresh ingredients, grab some fresh bread and cheeses. Mad drive home, stopping only to catch a fab panorma. Start cooking, humming Irish folk songs. Kiss wife and kids. Time for a glass of red, browse ScoobyNet and stitch panorma. Tweak curves and add a dash of USM. Smile with satisfaction, reward self with another glass of red and plate of bread and cheese. Check cooking before afternoon stroll, and stumble across an amazing landscape just ten yards from fornt door. Spend 20 minutes checking exposure and use a selection of carefully selected grads. Turn for home and wow, would you believe that - incredible sunset! Snap, bracketing exposures, confident of making everyone on SN envious. Finish cooking, feeling hungry, smells wonderful. Cracks open a Guinness to prepare the palatte. Quick taste. Umm, this is good! Another taste check. Add another bucket of chillies - don't want the family to eat too much of this. Serves dinner to starving family. "Damn, it's been a hard day, dear." Wife giving off steam; kids on fire. Yum. Don't want to waste any. Yum, yum. Feeling flushed, cracks another can. Relax. Enjoy the glow. Browse ScoobyNet while merging sunset exposures, expand dynamic range, add soft-focus effect, tweak curves, teaspoon of USM. Post pics on ScoobyNet. Yes, they are good! Shame favourite lens is still with Nikon for repair. Oh, and there's a drop of red left - don't want that to go off. Good lord, is that the time?

I'll be using chicken legs, though. Not a big breast fan, not on chickens at least

Richard, have you been stalking me? Very funny and uncannily accurate All apart from my lens which has now been repaired. Will post up a few candid snaps in the competition thread which I took during my afternoon stroll today!

Right then, had Paul's curry last night and the verdict is....butter chicken!!! It's very much like the butter chicken which is served in our local Indian. I de-seeded the chillies as Mrs STi-Frenchie wanted to try the recipe too so it wasn't hot and it went down very nicely

I have a recipe for butter chicken around here somewhere if you are interested Paul? I've not made it myself but it could be worth a shot.

Glad you enjoyed it, i always leave the seeds in, then it gives it a bit of a kick. I really like it and find it very restaurent authentic

Im always up for trying new recipes, so post up your one when you get a mo, and i`ll give it a try. Going to have a go at Chicken Colombo this week, just got to find some colombo spice, is it readily available in the supermarkets here, ive never heard of it before.

I've no idea about the UK Paul, but it's very easily found here -- all the supermarkets stock it and any of the local markets usually have a stall selling spices so it's a fairly common one.

Yeah, I usually leave the seeds in too but as my better half wanted to try it, I decided to de-seed them on this occasion otherwise she wouldn't be able to eat it or enjoy it. Will track down the butter chicken recipe and post asap.

Ok, i tried Frenchies Colombo Chicken last night and it was spot on. I diced the two red chillies along with the seeds and it gave the meal a decent kick. I must say that we both really enjoyed it, very clean tasting, obviously good for you as theres no nasty loads of butter or oil, just chicken an veg.

First prepare the marinade. Place the yoghurt in a piece of cheesecloth and leave to hang to allow the whey to drip away. Purée the garlic and ginger in a blender. Add this and the marinade spices, salt and lime juice to the yoghurt and mix well.

Scald the tomatoes for the makhani sauce and peel off the skin. Reduce to a semi-pulp with a fork or potato masher. Put the kasuri methi into a grinder and reduce to a powder.

Make gashes in the chicken if using pieces on the bone. Marinate the chicken in the yoghurt for at least 1 hour, preferably 2; for best results leave overnight.

When ready to cook, heat the oil in a large flat-bottomed skillet and put in the chicken with the marinade. Cover and cook over a low heat until done. Turn the chicken over during cooking.

Put the tomato pulp inot aa frying pan and cook for 5 minutes or so until the liquid has evapourated slightly.

Add the chilled butter and paprika, after the butter has melted let it cook for just 1 minute. Taste. If it has no sourness, add a few drops of vinegar. Add the kasuri methi and garam masala powder and salt to taste. After 30 seconds, add the cream and stir. The sauce is now ready. Pour it into the skillet and mix well with the chicken. Serve immediately.

If butter is cooked for as long as 3 minutes it will turn into ghee and become a grainy emulsion. So start with chilled butter and cook for less than 2 minutes after the butter has melted.

You can cook the chicken ahead of time. But makhani sauce takes only 5-6 to prepare and should be made with the dish is to be eaten. You can cook the tomato ahead, but add the butter just before serving.

In India restrauranteurs mix a little raw papaya purée into the marinade as a tenderiser.